ONGOING BATTLE: Broulee striker Klara Walsh (left) and Moruya defender Eydie Crowley enjoyed an intense battle at Captain Oldrey Park on Sunday.
MORUYA came one step closer to its main goal of reaching second place on the Eurobodalla Football All Age ladies ladder on Sunday with a 3-nil win over Broulee.
Broulee held a six-point advantage over third-placed Moruya before kick-off but second-half strikes from Michelle Zabel, Renee Rootsey and Lani Galvin ensured that gap was cut to just three points.
Zabel started the game in goal for Moruya and played a major part in maintaining the nil-all deadlock at half-time by repelling several shots from Broulee’s Klara Walsh.
The speedy Broulee forward, who was locked in an intriguing battle with Moruya’s Eydie Crowley throughout the 90 minutes, had three first-half efforts blocked by Zabel and sent a handful of other opportunities narrowly wide.
Moruya coach Sean Christie watched his side miss chance after chance in what was an entertaining first half before he put plenty of heat into his half-time team talk.
That sparked his forwards into action as they found their range after the break to give Moruya a morale-boosting win less than a month before the finals.
“I think we pretty much dominated both halves but in the second half we were fortunate to net three,” Christie said.
“The only difference in the second half was that our shots actually went in. The first half was pretty frustrating to watch, for sure.”
While admitting Sunday’s win was crucial, Christie said he was looking at it as part of the bigger picture with finals well and truly within touching distance.
“I was looking at it more from a statistical point of view in terms of finishing second on the table,” he said.
“So I was more looking at it from the overall perspective than just the game itself.”
Christie was also pleased with the way his injury-depleted side responded to its recent 4-3 loss to Narooma and said the important thing was to continue its push towards the post-season.
“We lost 4-3 last week but it was a good game, where this week we were comfortable at 3-nil and if we can continue that run through the last four games into the finals, that should finish us at second and put us into the finals with a bit of a run behind us,” Christie said.
In Sunday’s other All Age ladies fixture, newly crowned minor premier Clyde United beat bottom-placed Narooma 5-1 at Surfside.
After a slow start, Rachael Willard’s left-footed strike put Clyde in the lead before Narooma equalised with a delightful long-range strike.
Second-half goals to Shanon Payne, Lashae Gibson and Alli Ryan put the icing on United’s cake.